Israel is
considering cancelling the visit of Argentinean Foreign Minister Hector Timerman in Israel following a report suggesting Argentina told Iran it would suspend it investigation of the 1990's terror attacks on Jewish community centers to boost trade ties. Iran is suspected of being behind the attacks.

The Foreign Ministry, however is considering cancelling it if the Argentine weekly Perfil's report turns out to be true. It was reported Saturday that the Argentina hopes to increase the trade volume with Islamic Republic, which is currently estimated at $1.2 billion a year.

The Foreign Ministry has been checking the veracity of the report with Argentinean elements and Israeli envoys in South America. It has yet to be corroborated.

Commemorating the dead (Photo: Reuters)

"We are waiting for a statement from the Argentinean Foreign Ministry," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Talmor told Ynet. "If this turns out to be true, we will consider it desecration of the memory of the dead, but we await an official response before we made a stand."

In the 1992 embassy bombing, 29 people were killed and 242 were injured. In the bombing at the AMIA Jewish community center in 1994, 85 people were killed and more than 300 were injured. No one has been indicted despite the fact that Israel and the US have been assisting in the investigation.

Minister Timerman has Jewish connection. His father, a Jewish journalist and left-wing activist, was jailed by the military junta in Argentina and was released after Israeli diplomatic efforts. He made aliya in the early 1980s but returned to Argentina after the government change. He was known as a fierce critic of Israeli policies.